GameStop is going retro, will once again accept / resell classic consoles, games and accessories

History has a funny way of repeating itself. Given enough time, old items and fads tend to become trendy once more. Recent examples include vinyl records, the iPod classic and video game remakes, just to name a few.

In a continued effort to fend off online retailers and digital delivery, GameStop has announced plans to once again accept (and resell) retro game consoles, games and accessories. Consoles that’ll soon be accepted include the NES, Super NES, Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, Sega Dreamcast and the original Sony PlayStation.

Older equipment accepted through trade will go through GameStop’s refurbishment center for inspection, testing and repair. There will be about a two month lead between when the store starts accepting trades and when they will be offered back to shoppers to buy. This is being done to allow all stores to build up plenty of inventory.

Despite their age, some older consoles and games can command a decent amount of money on used markets like eBay. That’s in stark contrast to a time when used hardware and games littered the shelves of local stores and it was next to impossible to get any kind of decent money on trade. Some people even went so far as to throw out their old systems (the NES in my closet was found sitting beside a dumpster about 10 years ago; it still works perfectly).

The brick-and-mortar retailer will launch a pilot program on April 25 in select stores in New York City and Birmingham. If successful, GameStop aims to roll the changes out to stores nationwide later this year.